Christina & TJ | Downtown Frederick Engagement Shoot

One of the most beautiful things about a woman is the way she looks when she is loved. If ever you doubt that, take a look at these photos of Christina! Love sure looks good on her! She just lights up around TJ. They are probably the cutest couple I know because they always seem to be holding hands, or snuggling, or sneakin’ a kiss. Yesterday I went to Christina’s Bridal Shower and one of the ladies said, “I’ve never seen a couple more in love!” So true.

I first met Christina and TJ at bible study, over a year ago. Our young adults bible study is like a little family. We get together once a week to study scripture and share our lives. Ever since the week they told us they got engaged, it’s been so neat to hear about how their wedding plans are coming along. Now their wedding is only a few weeks away! My fiance and I actually got engaged about a month after Christina and TJ, and our wedding is about a month after theirs. It’s been so awesome to have a girlfriend who is going through the same joyful, yet stressful, moments of being a bride! I’m looking forward to when we double date with our husbands!

I always try to customize an Engagement Shoot to be really meaningful to the couple. I found out that TJ proposed downtown, so first we went to the very spot where she said “YES!”

You can tell that they’re a playful couple!

Look at those chocolatey brown eyes! Christina, you are gorgeous.

When we’re with a group of people, TJ is always crackin’ sarcastic jokes. He’s hilarious! But when it’s just the two of them, TJ is as sweet as can be.

Everyone can see how happy they are together!

The photo on the right is one of my favorites because Christina said something that made TJ laugh!

Even though I had a few locations selected downtown, I still wanted to wander around a little. We walked through an alley that had awesome rustic walls. The paint was peeling off the bricks and there were vines growing up the side of the building. History leaves me little treasures to photograph.

Nido’s Little Italy Ristorante in Frederick is Christina and TJ’s favorite restaurant. He took her out to dinner at Nido’s the night he proposed. Last night, Christina had her Bachelorette Party there and a bunch of us girls had a delicious meal!

Notice “LOVE” in the window with the purple shutters!

There’s no place like your Engagement Shoot to practice your first dance!

How darling is Christina?

The photo on the left is Christina’s favorite! It really shows their personalities and how close they are!

We walked to Carroll Creek to get some sunset shots! Even though it was freezing, Christina wanted some “summer” photos, so they braved the chill. Totally worth it, right?

I’m really excited about these two photos! Can’t wait to post them on my website soon.

All snuggled up!

Beyond loving one another, these two are best friends! You can tell they love spending time together.

Oh yes, there’s that glow that I was talking about when a woman is loved!

These are some of my favorites because it was like there wasn’t even a camera around.

Christina and TJ, I’m so excited that April is here and your wedding is just weeks away! All the details and all the worries will just melt away when you see each other! You’ll be in my prayers and I love you both!

Christina - April 2, 2012 - 9:50 am

Anna these photos are SO beautiful!! Thank you for taking our engagement photographs, I can’t wait to share them with family and friends. You are such a wonderful artist and such a joy in my life. I am so grateful to Him that we met at smallgroup and have become close. You are truly a good friend; thank you for being so very wonderful!

Much Love,
Christina

Lindsay M - April 4, 2012 - 9:51 am

These pictures are breath taking!!! Christina you look beautiful, and you look so in love with each other, I LOVE THEM!! Anna you did a fantastic job!

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Gorgeous Gals in Georgetown

I love being surrounded by brilliantly talented artists. I honestly wouldn’t be the photographer I am today without the critiques of my peers, professors, and mentors. Even though I have a fine art degree in photography, I still want to learn more and grow more as an artist. I’ll never be completely content with my portfolio and education because I always want to grow. I want to capture my next wedding even more creatively than the last. I want to practice new photography techniques. I want to meet new brides, and capture their wedding day in a unique way.

Jasmine Star is a fabulous wedding photographer who has truly inspired me over the past few years. Her photography work is beautiful and so chic, but what really caught my attention was her branding. When I heard she was coming from California to speak in Washington D.C., I did a little happy dance. I bought a ticket to Jasmine Star’s The Fix before even reading what it was about. I just knew it was going to be awesome! And it totally was. I’ll tell you all about it in another blog post soon!

Before going to The Fix, I met up with three amazing ladies and we headed to Georgetown to shoot. One of the gals, Abby, is actually my wedding photographer! Beyond being a joy to work with as a bride, she’s really helped me network with photographers in the DC/VA/MD area. I actually only knew Abby before we went to Georgetown, but became quick friends with Rebekah and Bre! We went to lunch and shared a delicious pizza. We also shared about our businesses, our faith, our husbands (in my case, husband-to-be), and our aspirations. It was so refreshing! Bre is a stylist and a model, so I loved hearing about the wonderful world of fashion. Rebekah and Abby are wedding photographers, so I loved hearing about their businesses and their passion for photography.

After lunch, we wanted dessert. C’mon, we’re girls! So we walked down the street to Georgetown Cupcake. I’ve watched all the episodes of the show DC Cupcakes, but never been to the bakery, so it was really exciting! I had the Vanilla Birthday Cupcake, which is a madagascar bourbon vanilla cupcake with sprinkles! Who doesn’t love sprinkles? The buttercream frosting was the perfect fix for my sweet tooth. It definitely put me in a great mood before having my portrait taken! Then, we just walked around Georgetown taking photos of each other. There was never a dull moment! Check out some of the highlights from our adventures in Georgetown.

How gorgeous is Rebekah? I love the intensity of her eyes in the shot below!

Bre is such a talented model and stylist! It was incredible to photograph Bre because she really knew her angles. She was never without a dynamic expression. The decorative mirror in her hand was actually her necklace. So charming!

It was such a warm day, like in the 70′s, so I didn’t mind a breeze! When I saw how the breeze was making Rebekah’s hair dance, I had her play it up. She has such a vibrant personality, so these photos celebrate that about her!

Bre. You are beyond words. Wow!

My wedding photographer Abby is stunning! The name of her studio, Abby Grace Photography, really suits her personality because she is so graceful. She reminds me of an Old Hollywood starlet because of her effortless charm and grace!

Bre looked so gorgeous, I just had to include another shot below.

In true “I do what I want!” attitude, we took over the middle of the street! We captured a bunch of professional portraits of each other, which I desperately needed. I actually never had a portrait holding my camera before, so that was more of a treat than the cupcake! You can check those out on Abby’s blog and Rebekah’s blog.

Abby really knows how to flirt with the camera! So cute.

There’s that timeless elegance that I was talking about before!

It’s awesome that our professional portraits were in the street. After all, we’re willing to do whatever it takes to get “the shot” even if it means getting down on the dirty ground! That’s love for the job, right there.

Bre is an amazing model! There is so much passion in her eyes. She was such a joy to hangout with! I miss her already.

Jasmine Star said, “Influential artists thrive on each other.” So true! We really shared so much about our lives and our businesses. I know there are industry professionals who call other photographers “the competition”, but I’ve never seen it that way. It’s about community between photographers, not competition. I learn and grow so much from sharing and collaborating with other photographers. One thing is for sure, these women are fabulously talented. I’m so excited to know them! We had the best day together and I have never felt more refreshed, encouraged, and inspired!

Abby Grace - March 18, 2012 - 8:20 pm

Anna you are SUCH a joy to be around! I love love LOVE these images! And your descriptions/accompanying verbiage is so sweet. I can’t wait to hang out again and to finally get the chance to meet your Matt :) . So so grateful to know you!

Rebekah Hoyt - March 18, 2012 - 11:03 pm

Ahh I LOVE this post!! I seriously had so much fun getting to know you that day. These pictures are adorable! Here’s to many more fun photo days!! :)

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“All those happy days up in Frederick” – Notes from 1925

Every time I hangout with my Grandma Nancy, she teaches me something new. She’s brilliant. And she has the best stories! I just spent the week at her house and I think I’m still full from all the delicious bites she served! Delicious. Grandma and I share a love of antiques. I’ve been to enough antique malls and auctions to know how much value ‘something old’ can have. But even though I like to look at nice things, and even have nice things, the value of antiques is not what I care about. It’s about a unique find. Antiques carry stories with them.

My Grandma showed me something I had never heard of, a High School Memory Book. It didn’t belong to her; she picked it up at a sale. It’s a handmade book, tied with a shoestring, filled with handwritten notes and poems. The memory book belonged to a girl named Elizabeth “Betty” from her high school days in 1925. It’s filled with all things sweet, strangely silly, and even a little saucy!

I could not stop laughing at some of the things they wrote! Betty must have a wild side because a guy named Ed Burke wrote this in her book, “The sea is wide, the land is level. Come to my arms, you sweet little devil!”

That’s not all. Mary Fawsett wrote, “High as the heights of heaven, Deep as the depths of hell, Here’s to the girl who can have a good time, and has sense enough not to tell.” Oh. My.

“When you get married, and your husband gets cross, pick up a broom, and say ‘Now who’s the boss!’”  -Helen Davenport

“What say Betty! Bread is bread, cheese is cheese. What’s a kiss without a squeeze?”  -Margaret

“Remember me on the mountain. Remember on the lake. Remember me on your wedding day. For I want a piece of cake.”  -Mildred Laggard

“As sure as my dad’s cow has a tail, my love for you will never fail.”  -Rosaline Kaplan

“Here’s to the girls that steals, lies, and swears. Steals into your arms, lies there, and swears she’ll be true.”  -KAO

“When you are married and spanking six, think of me between the licks.”  -Perry Gibson

“What we admire, we see in looks. What we value, we read in books.” -Mary Payne

Something that absolutely surprised me was a note that mentioned Frederick! It was written by a girl named Dorothy Lee Sampson, who said, “When you look upon this page, think of all those happy days up in Frederick with Mrs. Dawson.” I’ve been living in Frederick nearly a year and a half now, and even though it’s not my hometown, Frederick is my home. This is where I met and fell in love with my (soon-to-be) husband. This is where uprooted my life and my photography studio, after six wonderful years in Savannah. So, reading a floppy paged book from 1925 might seem silly, but when I came across that page the said, “all those happy days up in Frederick,” I felt a connection. That is what makes me adore ‘something old.’

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite pages, written by young Frances Sherman, “May your life be like arithmetic. Your joys added. Your sorrows subtracted. Your friends multiplied. And your enemies divided.”

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Hello Frederick, Maryland!

It’s official! Anna Kerns Photography, LLC is a fine art wedding and portrait photography studio in Frederick, Maryland! After shooting weddings and portraits in Savannah, Georgia for six years, I’m looking forward to the change of scenery. This is actually my first time living near mountains, and being so close to city life in Washington DC and Baltimore. I grew up in Illinois and went to college in Georgia, so I’m used to cornfields and beaches. There always seems to be something going on in Frederick, and tons to see in the DC/VA/MD area. There are some gorgeous historical sites and wedding venues that I can’t wait to shoot at.

I recently graduated Summa Cum Laude from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography. SCAD is often referred to as the ivy-league of art schools (with a tuition to match!), offering more degree programs and specializations than any other art and design university. In addition to photography studies, SCAD prepared me for a creative career with a solid set of fine art foundational courses and art history courses. Since I started my photography business while I was in college, I was able to refine my craft with the helpful critiques of my professors and peers. I had several opportunities for elective courses, with which I studied business marketing, graphic design, and advertising.

Why would I leave behind the warm winter weather and sweet tea in Georgia? Family, of course! My parents had recently moved to Frederick and told me I would love it here. They were so right! When I moved to Maryland, I had to start from scratch because I didn’t have any friends or connections yet. So, I started searching for online for interest groups and a church, which led me to amazing friends. I even joined an online dating website, which led me to my future husband, Matt! We are getting married in May in historic Frederick, then taking off for a honeymoon in Cancun!

I already had a passion for weddings, but now that I’m a wedding photographer and a bride, I’m joyfully obsessed with weddings! One of my favorite things to do is read blogs and pin my favorite photos and wedding ideas on Pinterest. If you’re a bride, I would love to hear about all those little details you’re planning. I’m full of creative solutions for stylish brides on any budget!

There is no doubt that 2012 will be one of the most exciting years in my life. My grandfather always said, “Find something to celebrate every day!” As we begin a new year, I encourage you to find joy in the little things. Cheers to all the memories you make in 2012, which of course, I’d love to capture!

Serena - March 16, 2012 - 1:46 am

So excited for you (your relocation + getting married)! I’ll certainly be checking your blog. =)

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